Petco Not So Pet Friendly?

Tragedy struck not too long ago at a Petco in Powhatan, Virginia. Sound the alarms, for Petco may not be so pet friendly after all. Social media has been experiencing a giant influx of the horrible incident that happened to Colby Jack, a cute, two-year-old Golden Retriever. The poor puppy came face-to-face with death inside of a drying cage due to employee negligence at a Chesterfield Petco.

Who leaves a puppy inside of a hot cage then forgets? Apparently, the groomer who had been taking care of Colby. When it came time to dry him off, Colby was put inside of a drying cage and forgotten. It is being mentioned that the employee went to a graduation party and disregarded the fact she had a dog under her responsibility. The employee did not call anyone over to take her position – she just up and left, which shows the party was more important. The poor, friendly canine had been left inside of the drying cage that reached over 100 degrees Fahrenheit for over half an hour and suffered a fatal heat stroke.

Allison Marks, the owner of the beloved Golden Retriever, was not only heart broken, but beaming with rage. She was not expecting that Colby’s usual routine grooming would take a very unfortunate turn. After dropping him off, she found it rather odd that she was not being notified for several hours. She called the store and was told to meet a Petco employee at a nearby vet clinic after being placed on hold. A beloved pet owner can only imagine the anxiety of hearing those words. She was quickly informed that her dog had died after being left in the drying cage for an extended period of time. This mishap quickly altered her perception that Petco may not be so pet-friendly.

She turned to social media to report of the incident and the story has been shared multiple times. It has raised a lot of eyebrows and a lot of skepticism is circulating around, as well with several other owners questioning whether they should return to their local Petco. This definitely will have some major repercussions and they might see a decline in company-wide sales after Colby’s death.

Executives on the corporate level expressed their concern about what had occurred. “All of us at Petco are heartbroken by Colby’s passing. The health and safety of pets is always our top priority and we take full responsibility for all animals under our care. We are taking immediate action to investigate and understand the situation. Our thoughts are with Colby’s family at this difficult time,” Petco told WTKR. They have since reported that the careless employee has been suspended. There is also a possibility of a charge for animal cruelty on either the employee or the store. Corporate office tried to reassure her that the drying cage automatically shuts itself off after 15 minutes. Marks did not buy the argument, however. According to her vet, Colby’s internal temperature was still over 100 degrees Fahrenheit an hour after the unfortunate death.

Many people on Facebook and other sites have expressed their condolences to Marks. She is a single woman with a recently deceased husband. Colby was her best companion and losing him was devastating. “He is my baby. He was the most important thing. I mean, he was my companion,” Marks said in an interview.

An investigation by Chesterfield Animal Control is currently under way. Marks refuses to believe that the incident was a mere accident and is striving for justice. Petco should expect a huge number of criticism on social in the upcoming days after proving they may not be so pet-friendly after all.